Let's hope Apple's two-year-old Maps app is on that shortlist of
fixes.

Apple

People are hugely dependent on maps apps, like the ones made by
Apple and Google. The iPhone relied on Google Maps for that
functionality until late 2012, when Apple booted the built-in
Google Maps app in favor of its own new app. And boy, did that go
wrong.

It's been over two years and Apple has slowly improved its Maps
app thanks to heaps of user feedback —
data suggests people are returning to the service as a result
— but Google Maps still
has Apple beat in a few big ways: It offers directions and times
for public transportation, it shows you real-time traffic
information so you can make quick decisions on the road, and it
lets you see the surrounding area using Street View.

Apple's been quietly building
its Maps arsenal, which suggests there's a big fix coming:
Roughly one-third of all the companies it bought in 2013 built
mapping and navigation solutions, highlighted by a
two-month spending spree where it bought Locationary (crowdsourced location data for local
businesses), HopStop (aggregated data from hundreds of transit
agencies for commuting via public transportation), and Embark (collected transportation routes for all
major cities).

Your browser does not support the video tag.
Apple

A few apps like Safari and Find My Friends won't let you use any
other maps app besides Apple Maps, but Apple Maps will play an even more vital
role in future Apple products: On the Apple Watch, it will help people get
around while walking, biking, driving, or taking a bus or train —
it only works for walking right now. It will even help you find
specific stores in malls
thanks to indoor maps.

But Apple Maps will play an
even bigger role in the rumored Apple Car,
reportedly coming in 2020,
which is said to be all-electric and potentially even
self-driving. Trusting a car to navigate itself will require
people have faith in the mapping software.

As of right now, though, Apple still can't direct you using
public transportation. Apple Maps still suggests you download and
use other maps apps for that stuff. But at some point,
Apple Maps will catch up to its competitors and be an ideal app
for all commuters. When that happens — and hopefully it's this
year — it will be interesting to see how the mapping incumbents
improve their own platforms to keep Apple at bay.